Life In The Saddle

Tubeless tyres are now widely accepted to be the best choice for gravel bikes, mountain bikes and even road bikes; but whilst tubeless technology has come a long way in the last decade, tubeless valves remain one area that has been ripe for improvement. Tubeless bicycle tyre set-ups usually use a Presta style valve, with a removable valve core to allow you to inject tubeless sealant into the tyre without removing the tyre from the rim. Yet, Presta valves have two disadvantages: First, their relatively small valve opening reduces the airflow that can be pumped into the tyre in one go, this is problematic when you want a large whoosh of air to 'pop' the tyre bead onto the rim when seating tubeless tyres. The second disadvantage is that tubeless sealant tends to clog up the delicate valve core, leading to problems inflating and deflating the tyre. Muc-Off have a solution to the downfalls of Presta valves, with their new Muc-Off Big Bore Tubeless Valves. Designed to maximise a...

Tubeless tyres offer a huge number of advantages over their tubed counterparts – including greater grip, puncture resistance, and a lower rolling resistance. To find out more about the benefits of tubeless, have a read of my post ' Going Tubeless on Road Tyres '. However, tubeless tyres can be a right pain... most notably to fit, but also when they do not seal out on the road or trails. After fitting more tubeless tyres than I care to count, and having plenty of dramas of my own, I thought I would share some Top Tips for Tubeless: for mounting, repairing and maintaining the tubeless system. 1. Mounting – Use two wraps of tubeless rim tape Most tubeless conversion kits recommend one compete wrap of the sealing tape (such as Stan's Yellow Tape). I recommend doing two wraps. You will use twice as much tape, and add a tiny amount of weight; but the added friction on the tyre bead and the better coverage of the rim bed makes it far easier to inflate the tyre. It also ...

We have all had that sinking feeling. Flat tyres are something you accept with bike riding, but there are several ways to prevent and reduce the chance of a puncture on a bicycle tyre. Whether you are running tubeless tyres or an inner tube there is still a risk of a puncture, and several ways to repair a flat. This blog post considers 7 Tips for preventing, fixing, and repairing a bicycle puncture on all kinds of wheel setups. Prevent Punctures – Tyre Choice The single most influential factor in preventing a bicycle puncture is your choice of tyre. Not all bicycle tyres are made equal. Most confusingly, even those with the same name are often not of an equal quality level. Some tyres feature inbuilt puncture protection belts made of Kevlar or a similar fibre—these help to avoid penetration of the tyre and puncturing of the inner tube. When looking at tyre reviews and choices, look out for those tyres with inbuilt puncture protection. It is worth noting that when you bu...

Hutchinson Tires were a pioneer of tubeless tyre technology—creating some of the first tubeless road and mountain bike tyres in the industry. They have continued the strong brand position with an ongoing range of superb tubeless road, gravel, and MTB tyres. Now, they have branched out into an accompanying range of tubeless kits and accessories—to complete the offering. Many riders are cautious about making the switch to tubeless, having heard about tight tolerances that can make tyres a challenge to fit and seal, the setup being a messy process, and the difficulty to repair a tubeless tyre mid-ride. Keen to address each of the above concerns, Hutchinson Cycling has developed a new range of tubeless tool kits and accessories. Hutchinson Tubeless Valves and Tubeless Rim Tape Hutchinson have released a new tubeless rim tape in 20, 25 and 40 mm widths, as well as universally compatible black conical tubeless valves with the option of 20 mm and 40 mm valve extenders. The rim tape and valve...

Plugging or repairing a large hole or cut in a tubeless bicycle tyre can be a necessity when the opening is too large for the tubeless tyre sealant to clog. The Pro Bike Tool Tubeless Tyre Repair Kit is a neat tubeless tyre plug system, housed in a compact metal canister. I once wrote a feature on ' How To Make Your Own Tubeless Plug System ' – that system worked well, but it was rather flimsy and eventually broke after repeat use. The homemade creation was based on the tried-and-tested design of most tubeless tyre repair plugs though, and this Pro Bike Tool one is a great example. The Pro Bike Tool Tubeless Tyre Repair Kit is a simple system: you insert a sticky plugging strip into the open needle end, and then push the needle into the hole or cut in the tyre. As you pull the needle out, the plug strip remains in the hole. Then, you just spin the wheel and the sealant clots around the plug. The Pro Bike Tool system is housed within a neat metal canister, which avoids t...

The Stan's NoTubes Grail S1 Wheelset is designed to be a go-anywhere, ride-anything set of disc brake wheels. Combining robust mid-depth aluminium rims, laced with a high spoke count onto Stan's NEO hubs; this is a strong and reliable set of wheels for mountain bike, road, and gravel riding. I have previously tested and extensively used the Stan's NoTubes Crest S1 Wheels — both on MTB and gravel bike. The Crest has a lower profile rim, and a slightly lighter overall weight than the Grail; branded primarily as an MTB and Gravel wheelset. The Grail S1 is branded as a do-everything wheelset. It uses the brand's slightly narrower (24.1 mm width) deeper section rim (24.5 mm depth), which are more aerodynamic and rated to a higher pressure than the Crest wheels. Consequently, the Grail wheels are deemed more suitable for road cycling as well as off-road adventures. I set up the Stan's Grail S1 wheels with tubeless 40c tyres. This is always easy on Stan's whee...

The idea and attraction behind a gravel bike is that it can go anywhere, and ride anything. That robustness and versatility does not have to mean performance sacrifice though; fitting a carbon wheelset like the Parcours Alta wheels to your gravel bike will provide a lightweight but incredibly versatile upgrade. My Kona Private Jake has over 27,000 kilometres on its frameset to date and has eaten through multiple wheelsets and drivetrains in its lifetime. Yet, fitting the Parcours Alta wheels to its go-anywhere chassis has been one of the most dramatic upgrades I have experience. The Alta wheelset is named after the most northern town in Norway — alluding to the claim that if you need a wheelset to take you far out into the back of beyond, then these should be your chosen hoops. My riding certainly pushes the boundaries of 'Gravel' — I often ride off-road trails on my gravel bike that are firmly in the mountain biking category, as well as riding my gravel bike fully loaded w...

I have been searching for the perfect tyre for mixed surface touring for some time; something that offers low rolling resistance on asphalt, but a good degree of grip and puncture resistance on gravel roads and bike paths. The new Goodyear County 35c tubeless tyres looked to tick many of the sought-after boxes, so I fitted them to the Kona Rove to test them out… Last year, I reviewed the Goodyear Connector Tyres ; those are 40c tubeless tyres aimed at the gravel rider—with a fine tread pattern offering impressive grip on off-road trails, but still with a fast rolling speed on asphalt. The Connector's remained on my cyclocross bike for the whole of the winter, and were impressive in their durability, and versatility. With that in mind, I was interested to see what the Goodyear brand could offer in the more road-focussed touring tyre category. The County is a 35c diameter tubeless tyre, designed to be used on the road and on light off-road paths. Previously I have used 30c tyr...

Plugging or repairing a large hole in a tubeless bicycle tyre can be a necessity when the hole is too large for the tubeless tyre sealant to fill. The Sahmaurai SWORD 2.0 is a neat tubeless tyre reaming and plug system, which fits securely inside your handlebar ends. In 2017, I posted a feature on ' How To Make Your Own Tubeless Plug System ' . That system worked well for me, but it was not without its faults… namely, it was flimsy and broke after repeated use. Doh. The homemade creation was based on the Sahmurai SWORD design, which at the time was not available to the UK market. Now it is! New for 2019, the Sahmurai SWORD 2.0 is an upgraded model of the original tubeless plug I tried to mimic. It is even more robust and easier to fit into the handlebar ends. The Sahmurai SWORD is a two-part system: you use the reamer to clean out and ready the hole in the tyre; then you push the sword into the hole with a sticky plugging strip inserted. As you pull the sword back out of ...

Finding a good tubeless tyre sealant is a bit like finding a good coffee in a foreign town: once you have found one that hits the spot, you will keep coming back, time after time. It is most likely a coincidence that Caffelatex Tubeless Sealant from Effetto Mariposa seems to allude to a coffee connection. Even so, you might well find it addictive… For me, latex based sealants still rule in terms of reliability and function. Stan's No Tubes was the original latex based sealant; but other brands have since taken on the concept and adapted it. Caffelatex is unique because it contains a foaming compound, which promises to give greater coverage inside the tyre, even when a cut is not at the bottom of the wheel. I have been using this sealant on a cyclocross bike for a few months now, and it seems to be working well. It seals around thorns easily, and larger cuts will seal if you use a tubeless plug (read my post ' How to Make a Tubeless Tyre Plug '). To be honest, I ...

I have tested more tubeless tyre sealants that I can count on two hands; some have been great, some have been pretty worthless. The 'Elite Racer's Sealant' from Joe's No Flats is one of the best. Thorns, small cuts and flints are sealed with ease. Even the largest cuts that I've encountered have sealed with the help of a tyre plug (see my post 'How To Make A Tubeless Tyre Plug' ). The sealant seems to have a good lifespan, and is as good as new after 3 months of testing so far. For all kinds of tubeless tyres: MTB, cyclocross and road, this stuff seems to work well. Click here for my 'Top Tips for Going Tubeless' Shop here for Joe's No Flats Elite Racer's Tyre Sealant

If you've read my post ' Top Tips for Tubeless Tyres ', you'll know that a tubeless 'plug' is a really useful device, for plugging larger holes in a tubeless tyre that your sealant is struggling to fill. The idea of a tubeless plug is pretty simple. It is a needle with a strip of rubber threaded through it; to plug the hole, you push the rubber strip into the hole, then pull it back through just enough to leave the rubber strip wedged in the hole. You then cut off the loose ends with some scissors or a knife. Tubeless plugs, or bungs (as they are also known) are great at filling in flint cuts and other puncture repairs that your tubeless sealant is struggling to solidify in. The only trouble with them, is that the sharp needle isn't the ideal thing to house in your saddlebag, next to your inner tubes (for obvious reasons). More pressing though, is that in order for a tubeless plug to work, you to get it into the hole pretty quickly; so having it access...

I've converted to tubeless tyres on pretty much all of my bikes; from mountain bike to cyclocross, and now even my road bike. The advantages of tubeless tyres are numerous. Earlier this year, I encountered a new hiccup with running tubeless though; though admittedly one I should have seen coming. I headed out on my mountain bike, after several months of just riding on the road; I hit a patch of hedge cutting and heard the tyre puncture; but then, there was no satisfying seal. The tyre deflated. The problem, was that the tubeless sealant had dried-up over a winter in storage. I limped home from that ride, and vowed that I would search for a sealant that had a longer lifespan; as well as noting that I needed to check this vital ingredient more often! (Read my post on ' 10 Top Tips for Tubeless Tyres '). During my search for sealant, I came across Magic Milk from OKO; a brand whose inner tube sealant I have previously reviewed  here on the blog . OKO are probably be...

My Eastway Emitter R0 is a truly custom build. At the start of 2016, we decided to do something a bit different with Team Wiggle bikes; rather than have identical loan bikes for the year, we would each have a frameset, and be responsible for building it up ourselves. The idea allowed us to choose parts that truly fitted our style of riding, and that were optimal for purpose. My Eastway Emitter is built up for endurance road riding, and has a distinctly Italian theme. The build kit features a Campagnolo Record mechanical groupset; as well as Campagnolo Zonda 2-way Fit wheels, fitted with Hutchinson tubeless road tyres (Read my blog on ' Going Tubeless on Road Tyres '). The finishing kit comes from fi'zi:k; whilst accessories come from LifeLine, Scicon Bags and Bar Fly. It might not be the lightest or most high-tech build, but it is comfortable and reliable. You need good reliable kit when you're riding  200 mile unsupported missions , and travelling abroad for ...